WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says the Americas, including the Caribbean, is a leader in vaccinating pregnant women against influenza, a public health problem that for future mothers, new-borns, and other high-risk populations can mean severe disease, complications and hospitalisation.

PAHO said, in all, 32 of the region’s 52 countries and territories, which contain the majority of the region’s women, vaccinate pregnant women to protect them from influenza, an acute viral infection that is transmitted from person to person.

Influenza epidemics cause between three and five million cases of severe disease and some 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide each year, PAHO said, noting that in the Americas, between 40,000 and 160,000 people die annually as a consequence of the disease, the majority of victims being over the age of 65.

“Vaccination is the most effective way of preventing the disease and its serious consequences for pregnant women, as well as for foetus and new-born,” said Cuauhtémoc Ruiz-Matus, chief of PAHO’s Comprehensive Family Immunization Unit.

“Influenza vaccines are safe and effective, and have been used for over 70 years.”

PAHO said pregnant women are especially susceptible to complications from influenza because of physiological changes in the cardiopulmonary and immune systems that occur with pregnancy.

It said the older the woman, the higher the risk of severe disease and hospitalisation as a result of influenza infection.

Similarly, the global health organisation said women with other diseases who get influenza are more likely to need intensive care.

Influenza during pregnancy can cause foetal death, premature delivery, low birth weight, or babies born small for their gestational age, PAHO said.

It said vaccination during pregnancy protects the foetus through mother-to-child transmission of high concentrations of antibodies.

PAHO pointed to various studies that it said show that the risk of death during the first year of life for children of mothers who had influenza during pregnancy is almost double the risk for children born of mothers who did not have influenza.

PAHO said the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends annual vaccination for pregnant women in any stage of pregnancy.

In addition, WHO recommends vaccinating the other high-risk populations against influenza: children between the ages of six months and five years; older adults; patients with certain diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, asthma, chronic pneumopathies, and chronic heart disease; and health professionals.